Tamazoid

Will be my first Etrian Odyssey game (I passed on IV, decided to try out Soul Hackers). I can't wait.

I agree, I have never been able to get into Majora's Mask, and back in the day when I had the choice between replaying OoT again or trying to complete Majora's Mask I chose OoT almost every time. But then again, I think Twilight Princess is a mediocre game while Skyward Sword is one of my favourite games this generation. The problem with the Zelda series in my opinion is that unlike GTA it is a mesh of gameplay ideas, exploration, combat, puzzles etc. Different gamers appreciate different aspects of the formula and think they should be prioritised whereas in GTA it generally plays it safe in the sand box genre, just increasing the interactivity and the graphics in each installment. Like the OP, some people think the motion controls were a chore in SS while people like myself think they were an innovation and added to the overall appeal of the game. I'd argue that Majora's Mask hardly "improved" the OoT formula as the dungeon design (well the ones I have seen) are subpar when compared to the rest of the series. Whenever people praise Majora's Mask they rarely mention the dungeons, they focus on the sidequests and the NPCs.

DQIX did well sales wise, it was probably the best selling DQ outside of Japan. But you need to remember that it did end up in bargain bins pretty quickly and that Nintendo did put a substantial marketing campaign behind it. Not to mention that the three DS remakes did not sell well to the extent that Nintendo had to pick up DQVI because SE dropped it. Although, I do agree with you that we will probably see DQVII eventually. Though I think the days of getting the spin off games localised are over. It also depends on what it happening with DQXI which I presume would be in development by now. I wouldn't be surprised if SE experimented with a Smartphone/3DS dual release for it.

Oddly it seems to be a Wii U thing of late, Wonderful 101 and now this game have non traditional control schemes that seem to be off putting as I believe I noted in a different thread they require a learning curve. I wonder if this will act as a message to developers to play it safe in regards to controls to ensure that their game is received well critically. Perhaps we are on the way towards all "Triple A" titles controlling almost the same.

There's an image at the top of the page. Australian image (Exactly the same except the ratings logo).

Confirmed for Australia! I'll be able to enjoy it without the ugly European classification labels. It's $150 AUD though (About 90 pounds)

Exactly, even the early Mario Parties were mostly received poorly by reviewers. The title tells you what to expect, it's a party game and best played in an environment with a group of friends. As you suggest, it would dampen the experience if played online, look at Boom/Fortune Street. From all reports that online mode is very clunky and slow.

I'm in a similar boat as Pratty, just recently picked up a copy on the cheap. Any tips for a first time player from any of the experts around here?

Is that the first look that we have had of the PAL box art? Shame about the ugly classification logo as usual. Does anyone know how ShopTo is with posting internationally, I doubt this edition will be available in Australia (Nintendo Australia didn't even bring over the Wind Waker bundle).

Personally I don't think it will become that much of a collectors item, purely due to the fact that the US version seemed to get a pretty decent print run and is region free. Might be a sought after item for die hard Megaten fans or people that only collect PAL releases I guess. Especially if the 3DS remake gets a PAL release, but you never really know with these things. It's a tough choice.

I doubt Nintendo would stop making games like Wii Party U if it's not successful, ND Cube is Nintendo's go to for party games, and will probably continue to make games like Wii Party U and Mario Party regardless of the performance of the title. Even if they did, I doubt many people would want a ND Cube developed Star Fox or F-Zero, as most of the staff originate from the Hudson Soft team that developed Mario Party for years.

I love that the classic controller pro is still supported for a majority of Wii U games, it's a nice trend being able to reuse peripherals, similar to how the GC controller was supported for years in many Wii games.

I'd argue that the controls in Skyward Sword were inherently 'complex' given the nature of the motion controls. Skydiving, flying and swimming all took practice to master, which seemed to put a lot of players off. Skyward Sword was clearly an attempt by Nintendo to take the series in a new direction (one which I personally enjoyed). So I wouldn't rule out exploration aspects of the series returning, as it seems that they are not adverse to change.

It does seem possible for Satellaview games to make an appearance. Intelligent Systems did include the Satellaview Fire Emblem game in their FE3 remake on the DS so the files do seem to still be around.

I can't wait for Urban Champion HD! Or better yet, Urban Champion 2 developed by Retro... Really, the only unreleased game that could potentially be release is Mother 1, since Nintendo apparently have a full English translation sitting around somewhere, similar to Sin and Punishment. Aside from the Super FX chip games, Uniracer and most of their N64 games Nintendo almost released their entire back catalogue on the Wii virtual console. They really need to get third parties on board. Hudson was a great supporter of the VC but thanks to Konami they are gone.

Wait for it to be like Sticker Star where Nintendo removed all outside aid whatsoever which infuriated people. No matter how much some may profess it, hardly anyone really wants games to be like they were during the NES days where trial and error were essential and games were filled with inane 'puzzles', like the infamous Simon's Quest. Hopefully Aonuma is able to find a balance.

I haven't really played a Sonic game since Adventure 2 Battle (Also the only Sonic game I have played). Still unsure whether to buy this at launch or wait for a significant price job. I did play the Lost Worlds 3DS demo at PAX Australia, I found the controls very slippery and not very enjoyable.

Thanks for the heads up, I was thinking about biting on the Ninja Gaiden 3 deal but won't now, I'd rather not go through the trouble of importing a game just to receive a gutted second hand copy.

I picked this up yesterday and so far i'm really enjoying it. Having never played a SMT game nor a dungeon crawler I didn't really know what to expect. The story so far has been solid and is helped by decent voice acting. Still getting a hang of the combat, just figured out that the cycles of the moon affect the strength of your and enemy demons. Seems to be a pretty good starting point to jump into SMT, since it sounds like it isn't the hardest in a series while having the strongest story. I'll probably picked up Devil Survivor Overclock and/or Strange Journey when i'm done with this.

I'd argue that it didn't, the early footage with all 4 characters looked like a mess, and from playing the demo it felt like one. This new footage, showing single player gameplay and more diverse locations paints a much brighter picture of the game, which I did not enjoy when I played the demo.

There was gameplay of a character walking through a chapel/church, no actual combat footage that i'm aware of though.

Ironically, this new trailer sells me on this game more than playing the demo did. I may in fact end up picking this game up, especially since DKC is now delayed. EAD Tokyo proves once again that you should count them out at your own peril.

Huh? Nintendo have a history of delaying games, this is nothing new at all. HD hurdle or not Nintendo will generally wait until a game is polished before releasing it.

Probably a smart move delaying DKC, as long as it does release in the first couple of months of 2014, they really can't afford another drought like the start of this year. Depending on when they get Mario Kart out they should be able to build some sort of a momentum leading into the next financial year.

I can't wait for the inevitable outcry from a certain section of the gaming community who seem to become upset after every Nintendo Direct due to 'no bombs' being dropped.